Bookshelf speakers for a small room?

[kramer2020]

I'm considering changing my large floorstanding speakers for some bookshelf speakers. My room is on the small side at 3.4m x 2.94m. Any ideas for speakers to compliment(?) my Yamaha A-S501 (its a keeper-no negotiable)

 

[Al ears]

I'm considering changing my large floorstanding speakers for some bookshelf speakers. My room is on the small side at 3.4m x 2.94m. Any ideas for speakers to compliment(?) my Yamaha A-S501 (its a keeper-no negotiable)

Budget?
Do you already own stands or will you need those as well.
You might be better off money wise getting small floorstanders

 

[kramer2020]

Budget?
Do you already own stands or will you need those as well.
You might be better off money wise getting small floorstanders

Budget in the region of £400- £600 incl. stands. I have tried some very nice looking Dali Oberon 5's but I found the to be very overpowering bass wise for their size and my Wharfedale 230's seemed very mild mannered in comparison. This may be because the Dali's were rear ported whereas the 230's have down firing ports (the Dali's were well away from the rear wall)

 

[Al ears]

Budget in the region of £400- £600 incl. stands. I have tried some very nice looking Dali Oberon 5's but I found the to be very overpowering bass wise for their size and my Wharfedale 230's seemed very mild mannered in comparison. This may be because the Dali's were rear ported whereas the 230's have down firing ports (the Dali's were well away from the rear wall)

For that budget you'll only have around 3-5 hundred for the speakers themselves.
Perhaps second-hand small floorstanders is maybe where you should be looking.
That or some smaller Wharfedale standmounts.
Can you actually audition anything?
Failing that look at second hand Totem Arro on eBay, you may be pleasantly surprised...

 

[plastic penguin]

For that budget you'll only have around 3-5 hundred for the speakers themselves.
Perhaps second-hand small floorstanders is maybe where you should be looking.
That or some smaller Wharfedale standmounts.
Can you actually audition anything?
Failing that look at second hand Totem Arro on eBay, you may be pleasantly surprised...

Not sure the Yamaha 501 will have sufficient quality to drive the Totems. A better option would be PMC GB1. They slightly bigger than the Totems but have a front vent. My little A65 had no issues driving them.

 

[Al ears]

Not sure the Yamaha 501 will have sufficient quality to drive the Totems. A better option would be PMC GB1. They slightly bigger than the Totems but have a front vent. My little A65 had no issues driving them.

That is, indeed, another option.
Looking at output of 501 I would suggest it has sufficient power to drive the Arros as they have the same spec as the GB1, if not to disco levels but doubt he needs this in a small room

 

[plastic penguin]

That is, indeed, another option.
Looking at output of 501 I would suggest it has sufficient power to drive the Arros as they have the same spec as the GB1, if not to disco levels but doubt he needs this in a small room

Tricky one given how meagre his budget is. Also, if he can find some Usher S520 are very impressive. They were sub-£500 when new. But so few come onto the market.

 

[Al ears]

Tricky one given how meagre his budget is. Also, if he can find some Usher S520 are very impressive. They were sub-£500 when new. But so few come onto the market.

Now that's a thought. Haven't heard Ushers mentioned recently. Once had my heart set on a pair of their mini dancers
Rare I guess as they are Taiwanese.
Perhaps the Triangle Borea BR03 might be worth looking at?

 

[plastic penguin]

Now that's a thought. Haven't heard Ushers mentioned recently. Once had my heart set on a pair of their mini dancers
Rare I guess as they are Taiwanese.
Perhaps the Triangle Borea BR03 might be worth looking at?

For the money those Ushers are fabulous speakers. They were powered by Arcam A18.

Not heard the Triangles.

 

[Witterings]

In one of my rooms I tried various bookshelf speakers when upgrading from some Monitor Audio BX1's with a £500 budget and ended up with Elac B5.2's which I think are brilliant.

They're a warm speaker with lots of detail but in comparsion to the other's I tried give a much "bigger" sound and great bass for a bookshelf.

If you wanted an even bigger sound might be worth looking at their B6.2's as well.

 

[matthewpianist]

If you can find a pair at the right price give the JBL Classic 52L a listen. I own a pair and they're outstanding small speakers - balanced, open, detailed, and easy to position. When I bought mine they were £500 new, but they seem to have gone up considerably in cost, so it might be a matter of shopping around.

The other small speakers I would suggest investigating are the B&W 607s (around £330).

Either of these would work very well with your Yamaha amplifier (which which I am familiar).

 

[Al ears]

If you can find a pair at the right price give the JBL Classic 52L a listen. I own a pair and they're outstanding small speakers - balanced, open, detailed, and easy to position. When I bought mine they were £500 new, but they seem to have gone up considerably in cost, so it might be a matter of shopping around.

The other small speakers I would suggest investigating are the B&W 607s (around £330).

Indeed. I was going to suggest the latest 607's but, being rear ported they might be difficult to place in a very small room

 

[matthewpianist]

Indeed. I was going to suggest the latest 607's but, being rear ported they might be difficult to place in a very small room

Dad has a pair set quite close to the wall in a relatively small room, and they work very well. The two-part bungs B&W supply are also very useful, though Dad isn't finding the need to use them. Like me, he prefers a well balanced sound.

 

[Witterings]

Indeed. I was going to suggest the latest 607's but, being rear ported they might be difficult to place in a very small room

The other small speakers I would suggest investigating are the B&W 607s (around £330).

I owned the 607 S's in between the Monitor Audio BX1's and the Elacs and sold them for quite a loss and kept the Elac's having back to backed them with a speaker switch .... too bright and not the depth of the Elac's but just my experience.

 

[SteveH72]

607s are a good shout and would benefit from the Yamaha’s hefty power supply. I enjoyed the sound of them but they are best in small rooms or nearer-field listening.
lots of options, but I found QAcoustics paired well with Yamaha amplification. I’d throw the Concpet 30s into the mix, or the newer 5020s.
QAcoustics make very good speakers for the money.

 

[SteveH72]

If you can find a pair at the right price give the JBL Classic 52L a listen. I own a pair and they're outstanding small speakers - balanced, open, detailed, and easy to position. When I bought mine they were £500 new, but they seem to have gone up considerably in cost, so it might be a matter of shopping around.

The other small speakers I would suggest investigating are the B&W 607s (around £330).

Either of these would work very well with your Yamaha amplifier (which which I am familiar).

A speaker I’m very keen to hear. I keep looking for the bargains but not much around.

 

[record_spot]

Going back a year or ten, but if you ever get the chance to try the diminutive Tannoy DC4 as New Old Stock, snap them up. Better bass than you might expect, midrange to die for and a finish not readily seen in sub-£500 speakers. Tannoy's dual concentric drivers are a bonus.

 

[matthewpianist]

A speaker I’m very keen to hear. I keep looking for the bargains but not much around.

I don't think it's one that will surface much on the secondhand market. I won't part with mine, and a friend who is a past member of the forum also loves his pair.

 

[AJM1981]

I have experience with B&W, Tannoy and Wharfedale but when I would recommend a small bookshelf speaker that blows minds I would recommend the Madison bs4, 70 to 75 euros a pair.

Simple but extremely underpriced performance wise

 

[Amormusic]

There's a set of mint Concept 40's on the Wam for £350 atm. That's a lot of speaker for the cash and would pair well.

Floorstanders of course, but by the time you add stands there's not all that much difference in space anyway.

 

[plastic penguin]

There's a set of mint Concept 40's on the Wam for £350 atm. That's a lot of speaker for the cash and would pair well.

Floorstanders of course, but by the time you add stands there's not all that much difference in space anyway.

Those Concept 40s are pretty big and need some space which I don't think the OP has.

Is the Wam paying for all their classifieds?🙂

 

[Al ears]

Those Concept 40s are pretty big and need some space which I don't think the OP has.

Is the Wam paying for all their classifieds?🙂

That's perhaps a question for another thread......

 

[plastic penguin]

That's perhaps a question for another thread......

You buy a brand new pair of Concept 40s for £499 from SSAV.

Q Acoustics Concept 40 Floorstanding Speakers

The Q Acoustics Concept 40 Floorstanding Speakers are the newest addition of the acclaimed award winning Concept range and they deliver unparalleled sonic performance at its price point.

www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk

 

[matthewpianist]

Concept 40s are a red herring I'm afraid. They, like the 3050i, need plenty of space around them, and they will boom if they are not given this.

The new 5020 would be worth a listen at £499 if Q Acoustics are of interest, though I haven't heard these.

 

[Rodolfo]

I love my Martin Logan LX16s, with their remarkable tweeters. These appear to be the Motion 15is of today, but I'd study the question. I complement these with Wharfedale Diamond 225s which are a great buy. The superior tweeter and warm base of the Martin Logans on my A speaker setting suffice for 80 percent of my music, and the somewhat but clearly better or greater bass of the Wharfedale Ds on B fill out nicely on certain albums or tracks . I think they're 5 and 8 ohm units respectively. A Rotel A12 integrated powers and controls my 2-channel setup.